Sunday, November 9, 2014

Robot Face Race {A Review}

I don't think it is any secret that we love Educational Insights products in our home. During this holiday season, we have been given the opportunity to review two wonderful products, products I want to make sure my readers have a chance to learn about. The first one I want to share with you is a fun game called Robot Face Race. Like all the other games we own from Educational Insights, this one has not disappointed.

Robot Face Race is a "frantically fun feature-finding game!" The game comes with the following contents.

The game board, 20 robot scoring tokens (5 per color), the robot randomizer, and instructions

As you can see, there are many different robot heads on the game board, 120 to be exact, and they are all unique. The object of the game is to find the correct head as determined by the randomizer. What exactly is the robot randomizer? Well, let's take a look.

The randomizer is a domed container that is shaken during the beginning of each round of play. There are 5 different color balls that settle into the holes, one of which is deeper than the rest so the extra ball falls underneath and out of view. The balls that are seen show the players what color the robot face features need to be. In the above picture, the players would be looking for a yellow head with red eyes, a blue nose, and a green mouth. The shape of the head does not matter. Only one robot head will match the required specifications.

It is a race to find the correct head. The first one to find it gets to claim it with their token. The first player to claim 5 robot heads is the winner.

There is a lot of concentration going on during this game.

Here you can see what the required robot head should look like for the specifications in the randomizer:

Daddy was the one who found it first, so he placed his token on the board, covering the robot head.

Sometimes it can take a while to find the correct robot head. I have developed a strategy that I am trying to convince the girls to use. I start out by looking for the head/eye color combination, looking only in one quarter of the board. If I find one then I check for the mouth and nose. If the robot head isn't found in that section, I move on to the next.

Tabitha has caught on quite well with the strategy of this game and doesn't have any problem with the visual discrimination needed. Her younger sisters are struggling a bit though. Amelia, who is 6, gets the concept, she just isn't as fast as Tabitha. Hannah, our 4 year old, needs quite the bit of guidance to find the correct robot head. Daddy helps her out by having her focus on one section at a time.

Not only are the children learning to hone their visual discrimination and concentration skills, they are learning to be patient and show deference while thinking of the younger sisters' feelings. We don't want anyone to feel frustrated while playing a game that is meant to be fun. We don't always expect Tabitha to wait for her sisters, but we want her to give them a fair shot.

This game is such a blast to play. The amount of time that game-play takes will depend on how fast the players can find the head with the specified features. The winner is the one to find 5 first, but we usually continue playing until everyone has a chance to use all their tokens. When Amelia doesn't have to compete against Tabitha, she can focus easier on the board.

Skills learned:

Sharpens visual discrimination skills (important pre-reading skill)

Hones concentration

Robot Face Race from Educational Insights is geared for children who are ages 4 and up. The ease of play will depend on each child's developmental level. Hannah needs quite the bit of direction and even Amelia can get frustrated. I think they may do better if they were playing with children their own age as opposed to older sisters and parents.

You can purchase Robot Face Race for $19.99 from Educational Insights. What a wonderful Christmas gift this could be. I love gifts that can involve the whole family.

Don't miss the giveaway post that will be posted shortly to enter to win your very own!

Disclosure: I received Robot Face Race from Educational Insights in exchange for my honest review. I received no further compensation. This did not in any way influence my review. I only recommend products I use personally and feel will be a good products for my readers.

This game is a great game. I am 18 yrs old and I loved this game... It was a race between Tabitha and I... Even mommy couldn't get it as fast as one of us... And I am very sad mommy didn't include me into her review.

Welcome to Tots and Me... Growing Up Together, where I share homeschool activities, crafts, recipes, and tips, both of my own creation and those I have found around the web. I also love to share reviews and the occasional giveaway.

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About Me

I am a stay at home mom. I have always wanted to teach, started college with a major in Early Education, but ended up staying home with my son (which turned into staying home with my 2 sons and daughter). Years later ended up with an Associates Degree in Human Services. Which helped me get a director's position at the Montessori I was working at. I am now staying home with my 3 young children. While my older children are off in public school we are homeschooling. I am doing what I always dreamed of doing, teaching!! I feel this is where God has led and willed me to be. I will be here to "Train up [my children] in the way [they] should go: [so] when [they are] old, [they] will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6